A gay icon is born: Nikki Blonsky

It’s not always easy to spot the next up and coming gay icon. However, some divas are obvious … Bette Midler singing in gay bathhouses in the 1960’s … Madonna tramping it up in 1983 with videos like “Burning Up” and “Lucky Star”… and after seeing Nikki Blonsky give a flawless performance in the new film Hairspray, due in theatres July 20th, it is clear another gay icon is born!

Nikki Blonsky stars as the "big, blonde and beautiful", Tracy Turnblad in the remake of John Waters' Hairspray. Directed by acclaimed choreographer Adam Shankman, Hairspray is the nearly twenty-year old story of the battle for hair, music and integration in 1960's Baltimore. Every teen, black and white, wants to dance on the squeaky-clean and segregated, Corny Collins show. Tracy Turnblad, who is white but is rejected from the show for being overweight, wants nothing more than to shatter the show’s plastic, soulless image. Turnblad turns into a "revolutionary" of sorts, by becoming one of the featured dancers, but desires an integrated Baltimore for everyone as she cries, "I wish everyday was Negro Day!"

For this to be Blonsky's first film role she is amazingly comfortable and shockingly natural. I was so blown away by her performance as soon as the credits ended I dashed to the nearest computer to see what other roles this up and coming diva played, and surprisingly this is her only film (previously, Blonsky was scooping ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery).

The original film and musical were huge successes; this third version of Hairspray is just as enjoyable and a little more political. Hairspray also stars John Travolta in full buxom drag as Edna Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle and Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle. All those A-list celebrities are just fabulous, but Nikki Blonsky outshines the Hollywood glamour in a powerhouse performance, which proves she is the Effie White/Jennifer Hudson of 2007.

The singer and actress beat out thousands to play the role of Tracy Turnblad and after the first few notes of the opening number, "Good Morning Baltimore", it is clear the 18 year-old was born to be a Turnblad. The role of the pleasantly plump diva is a big wig to fill, especially after Ricki Lake’s film version in 1988 and Marissa Jaret Winokur Tony Award winning performance in 2003. Both performances were flawless and turned the then unknown women into stars.

An up-and-coming gay icon has definitely arrived. What better way for a gay superstar to arrive than from a John Waters film that starred legendary drag queen Divine? The homo stars couldn’t be aligned any better. All hail Blonsky!

(For our earlier coverage of an exclusive rough-cut screening, head on over here)